Police in Oklahoma City say three McDonald's employees suffered gunshot wounds when a woman opened fire because she was angry that the restaurant's sit-down dining area was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Police say the woman entered the fast-food restaurant late Wednesday and was told the dining area was closed due to COVID-19 related restrictions. She was asked to leave but when she refused, there was a physical altercation between the woman and an employee.
They say the woman was eventually forced out of the restaurant, but soon returned with a handgun which she fired three times. Oklahoma City Police Capt. Larry Withrow told the Associated Press one employee was shot in in the arm and two suffered shrapnel wounds, while a fourth employee suffered a non-gunshot head injury. All are expected to recover.
Withrow said 32-year-old Gloricia Woody was arrested a short time later for assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
In a statement, McDonald's said the safety and security of employees and customers is its top priority. They called the shooting a "heinous crime" on employees, who were trying to support public health efforts.
Tensions over restrictions intended to curb the pandemic have escalated into violence elsewhere in the U.S.
This week, a woman, her adult son and husband were charged in last week's fatal shooting of a security guard who refused to let her daughter enter a Family Dollar store in Flint, Michigan, because she wasn't wearing a face mask to protect against transmission of the coronavirus.